2021 Bahrain Grand Prix - Sakhir, March 26 - 28

[foxmulder_ms]

People are a bit harsh to Bottas. Without the 11sec pit he would be fighting and undercut Max.

[El Scorchio]

On the Vettel front...

I just can't understand how this man has ended up in this miserable situation since 2019! His crash today was so stupid...same as with Verstappen at Silverstone in 2019!

I was hoping that Aston Martin will help him get back up to his old self...but with this kind of incidents I get the feeling Seb is past his best a long time now! Being beaten by Stroll will just end his career much sooner! In the meantime just look at Perez and how he managed to get back up to 5th by the end...although his Quali was awful I expect him to get up to speed in due time!

It was a great recovery drive by Perez, but he was helped out immensely by the safety car which allowed him a free pit stop on everyone else. Nevertheless, he cut through the field quite nicely indeed.

[Scorpaguy]

People are a bit harsh to Bottas. Without the 11sec pit he would be fighting and undercut Max.

Do the botched stop and extra stop really equate to 37+ seconds...maybe/maybe not. However, in the race, he seemed to continually be losing lap times to the leaders and never a threat to either Ham or Max.

[El Scorchio]

People are a bit harsh to Bottas. Without the 11sec pit he would be fighting and undercut Max.

Do the botched stop and extra stop really equate to 37+ seconds...maybe/maybe not. However, in the race, he seemed to continually be losing lap times to the leaders and never a threat to either Ham or Max.

Stationary for 11 seconds in the botched one plus 24 for the extra one- pretty much does.

[Scorpaguy]

Stationary for 11 seconds in the botched one plus 24 for the extra one- pretty much does.

...copy that, but still does not add up to 37. Nor does it explain why he was 9 seconds down on the leader by lap 13 (pre pit stops).

Also, please note my constant deriding of Bot should not be attributed to the Ham hate (whom I view as the GOAT).

[Just_a_fan]

On the Vettel front...

I just can't understand how this man has ended up in this miserable situation since 2019! His crash today was so stupid...same as with Verstappen at Silverstone in 2019!

I was hoping that Aston Martin will help him get back up to his old self...but with this kind of incidents I get the feeling Seb is past his best a long time now! Being beaten by Stroll will just end his career much sooner! In the meantime just look at Perez and how he managed to get back up to 5th by the end...although his Quali was awful I expect him to get up to speed in due time!

Seb's crash was silly and very much a rookie mistake. His call on the radio was silly too. But being put on a one stopper by the team was the biggest silliness. No way could anyone be competitive today on a one stopper which is why no one else tried.

If that one-stopper was a team call and forced on him, then he's got no reason to feel too bad. Other than his crash, which was straight up a driver error.

[cheeRS]

ZARCO!

Haha, I just finished watching that race too. Worth a mention.

[El Scorchio]

Stationary for 11 seconds in the botched one plus 24 for the extra one- pretty much does.

...copy that, but still does not add up to 37. Nor does it explain why he was 9 seconds down on the leader by lap 13 (pre pit stops).

Also, please note my constant deriding of Bot should not be attributed to the Ham hate (whom I view as the GOAT).

It ebbed and flowed for him a little, I think. I agree he looked absolutely nowhere in the first 5 laps/stint but then at other points he was the fastest out there, catching both Verstappen and Hamilton. It seemed like the tyres came and went to each of the protagonists at slightly different times. The strategists seemed pretty sure he would/could have undercut Verstappen had that pit stop not been botched. Whether that would have played out, who knows? I think he ended up on a slightly compromised strategy also.

For me, it’s no shame to be not as fast as the two standout drivers in the sport and today he was a lot closer than the eventual time would suggest.

[dans79]

Don't forget Bottas had to pass a slower car in the first few laps.

[Manoah2u]

As usual Bottas is the clown of the crowd. This is the - once again - renewed Bottas? Geesh how can he get it out of his mouth, he's a pile of garbage only meant to be a chicane for the top dollar driver and to make sure enough points are earned to get the WCC. He needs to stop thinking he's anything else but that.

Be honest, I expected Hamilton to win because it's just how things have been going anyways the past years anyway. I expected a DNF however from the RBR camp. It didn't start well with Perez' issues, and then the diff issues with Max. Did those Diff issues cause enough - perhaps paired to a damaged floor - to 'hand' Lewis the win? Perhaps, it surely didn't help.

To be fair though, I think Lewis did earn this win in the end fair and square. People can whine all they want about going wide on - or off - the track, Max could have recieved an update to go wide there by his team before anyway, but that honestly isn't something that settled the race either way.

Mercedes was on it from the start, and showed their game when undercutting Max. The race was essentially decided right there and then.
In the end however, the dogfight between Max and Lewis was definately great to watch, and very exciting.

Max has nobody to blame but himself to lose the race there, because let's face it - he did overtake Lewis outside the track, it would have been a clear 'unfair' advantage, so he had to give it back. If he had won like that, it would not have been really that 'honourable' anyway. Max got greedy at the wrong place, and took the toll. The comment about not giving the place back not only is foolish but doesn't make much sense - he might - at the very best - created a gap of 5 seconds, but the FIA isn't stupid either and he just casually assumed he'd get a 5-second penalty, he just as much could have gotten a 10-second penalty.

Max c%cked it up right after that, burning through his tires and probably collected some unwanted dust and dirt too, and grew too much of a distance to lewis.

Right after that, it was over, and let's be honest here, Lewis did well - very well - to defend the mighty dutch lion right behind him. It's just that which makes him a 7 time WDC.

And yes, let's not forget either, that Lewis made a mistake and went wide just a lap or so before, which gave Max the chance to really catch up to him. Quite frankly, Max thus only really ever had a chance because of that mistake - otherwise it would have taken a bit longer for him to catch up. Longer behind a car, which causes tires to wear out more and the car to get hotter.
Max even benefitted from a 1.9 second pitstop aswell, let's not forget.

It's great to see them close together, perhaps closer than we've ever really seen two teams yet - but i am still not surprised that the end result is Hamilton winning, and Mercedes in the end the bigger fish. Sunday is where the points are given, and once again, Merc is on top.

Now, apart from that :

As expected, Mazespin out really soon. Honestly, i hope that is how things will keep going.
Russell doing a magnificient job in the Williams.
Was hoping for more from Mick. Unreasonable? yes. Still, bloke did well. Was hoping for some magic though. Perhaps it'll come.
Yuki did pretty well, points in his first GP, very nice.
Gasly too bad that there was that early damage which ruined his race.
Vettel clumsy AF piledriving into Ocon. He did pretty okay up untill that point.
Alonso very disappointed he had a DNF. Was great too see him out like that. He destroyed Ocon already. Alonso is a beast.
Sainz did great. Hope some more though.
Too bad about Perez' start BUT he did end up in a good spot though despite all that happened.

[PlatinumZealot]

People are a bit harsh to Bottas. Without the 11sec pit he would be fighting and undercut Max.

The undercut wss gone but Bottas would have been used as blocker when Max pits to fall behind him.

[PlatinumZealot]

What do you guys think of Danny Ric?
Great qualifying but the race got away from him a bit.

[El Scorchio]

What do you guys think of Danny Ric?
Great qualifying but the race got away from him a bit.

I think he needs a bit of time to settle in, but I also think a lot of people have been underestimating Lando Norris.

[Shrieker]

People are a bit harsh to Bottas. Without the 11sec pit he would be fighting and undercut Max.

This.

He pitted with the gap hovering around 3.7 seconds, and either would've leapfrogged him, or forced him to pit a lot earlier than he actually did, helping the team immensely. And when Max was pushing to catch Hamilton, he could've eased off a bit, look after the tires, and wait for them to fall back towards him when they inevitably got entangled in the end.

The undercut wss gone but Bottas would have been used as blocker when Max pits to fall behind him.

Most certainly it wasn't. Bottas pitted with a gap of 3.7 seconds to Max, meaning Max would've had to respond immediately the following lap, or get leapfrogged. Bottas would've almost certainly clawed back more than 3.7 secs in 2 laps. The pit mishap was really, really unfortunate for Bottas, and could've costed the team the win.

[e30ernest]

People are a bit harsh to Bottas. Without the 11sec pit he would be fighting and undercut Max.

This.

He pitted with the gap hovering around 3.7 seconds, and either would've leapfrogged him, or forced him to pit a lot earlier than he actually did, helping the team immensely. And when Max was pushing to catch Hamilton, he could've eased off a bit, look after the tires, and wait for them to fall back towards him when they inevitably got entangled in the end.

The undercut wss gone but Bottas would have been used as blocker when Max pits to fall behind him.

Most certainly it wasn't. Bottas pitted with a gap of 3.7 seconds to Max, meaning Max would've had to respond immediately the following lap, or get leapfrogged. Bottas would've almost certainly clawed back more than 3.7 secs in 2 laps. The pit mishap was really, really unfortunate for Bottas, and could've costed the team the win.

I agree. If it weren't for the mishap, Bottas could have leapfrogged Max if Max decided to stay out. If Max covered Bottas, then he won't have that tire advantage he had to Lewis.

I feel bad for Bottas. He drove a good race. There are times when he deserves the criticism, but this time around, he doesn't.

An amazing battle between Lewis and Max though. I had planned to watch the first half of the race and then head off to bed. I ended up glued to my seat to the end. Now if Bottas and Perez get into the mix, we're in for a very interesting season ahead.

I'm surprised Lando was so far ahead of Ric. I guess Ric was pushed back because Lando got the preferred strategy. Would be interesting to see who will end up on top at the year's end. Leclerc and Sainz is another inter-team battle that I'll be watching closely.